Who istaking it? I have Machida countering Rampage to a late KO or UD. If Rampage closes the range and gets a clinch, he can go crazy on Machida though, soit should be good....better than the mir and cro cop farce.
ive been wrong before but i cant see rampage winning a single second of this fight. If you asked me to pick machidas perfect opponent it would be him. The only question mark i feel is machidas mental state. If thats all good then he should have no worries at all.
Machida leg kick KO.. But in all seriousness, he probably plays it safe and cruises to a UD after getting clocked by Shogun.
The safe bet is Machida UD. That's what I'm going with. This will be the first UFC fight I'll miss live in a long time. Can't miss Martinez/Williams II.
Rampage is my dude but I really can't see him winning this fight. - Machida's takedown defense is impeccable, so there's little chance that Page will get him to the ground. - Machida's stand-up is light years ahead of Rampage's. While Rampage usually relies on his durability and big right hand to get the job done, Machida's got the whole reportoire of knees, kicks, punches, and superior counter punching. - Machida has better footwork. Rampage is flat footed and doesn't really move around the cage quickly. Lyoto, on the other hand, has that patented elusiveness and is hard to catch. The only real advantage Rampage has is his durability and chin. Unfortunately, that's not gonna be enough to win the fight. I see Machida winning by UD (30-27 accross the board). However, if Rampage manages to land one of his bombs on Machida than its lights out for Lyoto.
This is about as close to a Street Fighter fight as your likely to see Two world class MMA fighters Ryu vs M Bison (Balrgo if your a Jap) No one giving Bison a chance, and rightly so Ryu has tasted defeat - a thing that either makes or breaks a mans spirit. I got a strong feeling it will make Machida even deadlier
i got this feeling as well. he just seems the type that would internalise a loss so much it will just steel him for further battle. kinda like lennox lewis.
I like Machida to wear Rampage out with kicks from every angle, then take him out with a flying knee.
I think the most important tool in Machida's arsenal for this fight will be his leg trip takedown; Rampage is very dangerous standing and will probably be the best boxer Machida has faced. I think Machida will recognize this and use that trip to either finish the fight or at least take Rampage out of his game.
I also think Machida should have too much, as he can strike without getting involved in a brawl which is what Rampage needs this fight to be to get the win. But Machida is coming in straight off the back of his first, quite brutal, loss. You never can tell how this will affect his mentaility. Will he be gun shy, hestant and therefore vulnerable? It happens when long unbeaten runs end. He had this aura around him due to the fact he hardly ever got hit, Shogun blew that apart. I think the fight could be closer than it looks on paper because of this.
Machida will have the better range and timing. Generally I expect him to fight more intelligently. Watching tape and listening to Rampage there seems no doubt that he will stay as he is - a straight ahead banger. This is sad because he isn't fufilling his potential. If he is going to be a basic boxer then he could at least fight an intelligent boxing fight - use his feet more, pump the jab, go to the body, punches in bunches etc Machida keeps his chin up in the air and Rampage has knockout power. This is a sticking point for me. If Machida pulls back and steps in with his heap up and Rampage throws ala Chuck Liddel 2 then it could be good night Michigan. Hopefully Rampage will blend the wrestling and boxing and be the powerful banger we all know. The only problem is people know what to expect from Rampage now. There are no surprises so you'll get guys like Forrest kick his legs and Rashad physically controlling him to not engage. I could see similar tactics from Machida.
Tough, tough fight for Rampage. Machida is all wrong for him being a more rounded and just better counter-striker. I'd expect Machida to go back to his usual elusive self, picking off Rampage with leg kicks as he should know that Rampage is especially susceptible to them. Can't see Machida knocking him out; Rampage has an excellent chin so I think Machida wins by UD. With the power that Rampage possesses though and his boxing ability you can't count him out. He has a chance, however slim, of catching and knocking Machida out.
